PAUL SMITH and Derry Mathews proved just why they are being labelled as two of the finest prospects in Britain last night.

The Scouse pair both recorded stoppage victories at the Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes to the delight of a vocal home support.

Mathews was simply too strong for Walsall's Steve Gethin as he punched his way to a third-round stoppage victory, while Smith needed a round less to dispose of Nottingham-based Rus-sian Andrei Ivanov.

Smith, who wore a t-shirt with the face of his recently deceased former coach Jimmy Alber-tina and had 'Albo RIP' blazed across the back of his trunks, produced a real show of power punching to earn his second straight professional victory.

With world champion Ricky Hatton in his corner and Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, plus half the Rooney family leading the sup-port at ringside, Smith looked every bit the champion as he broke down the game Russian.

By the close of the opening round the writing was on the wall for the visitor as Smith mixed his shots well from head to body.

A foray of punches to the midsection in the closing seconds forced referee Chris Kelly to jump in, only to bizarrely wave the fight on and allow Ivanov to be saved by the bell.

Bleeding from the nose, he wobbled out for the second round but a superb combination from Smith in almost the initial exchange, lifted Ivanov off his feet.

A smooth double left jab from the Merseysider set Ivanov up for a perfectly delivered corkscrew right hand which exploded up from Smith's waist to send the Eastern European crashing onto his back in the corner.

Ivanov made it to his feet, but swallowed a crunching left hook and was forced to cover up, leaving the official with little option but to save him from any more punishment.

Smith, who had to dig deep in the first few seconds after stepping cold into a straight left, said afterwards: "That was for Jimmy, in fact everything I achieve in boxing is for him. He's the reason I am the man I am today. It's all down to him."

Of the fight, he added: "I knew I could go at that pace for the full four rounds if need be. I walked into a shot early on as he came out as a southpaw and it caught me a little off guard.

"Understandably my mind wasn't 100% on the job. I stripped off in the ring and looked down at the picture of Jimmy on my chest. I couldn't shake it.

"That is until he hit me on the chin. That was a wake-up call for me and once I got going I felt really strong. The right hand which sent him over is a shot I've been working on in the gym.

"It was nice that it came off and it was also great having so many supporters at ringside cheering both myself and Derry on."

Mathews, like Smith a 2002 ABA champion, completed a hat-trick of professional victories with a dominant display against puncher Gethin.

The 19-year-old looked a little anxious in the opening three minutes as he felt out his Walsall opponent, but Mathews was soon cruising in his natural groove as he peppered Gethin with shots from every angle.

He landed the first of many piercing overhand rights early in the second and the shot was to dominate the fight from then on.

Every time Mathews stepped to the side and let his big punch go it registered with his opponent.

By the third, a swelling under his left eye was clearly bothering Gethin and had him looking to hold and spoil Mathews' best work.

But the "Golden Boy" remained focused and was rewarded for his patient labour when referee Chris Kelly waved the fight over exactly two minutes into the third round.

"My right hand never missed a beat tonight and I am happy with the result," confessed Mathews.

"He stopped St Helens prospect Gary Davies last year so I gave him a little respect early on. But there was no way he was stopping me.

"As the fight progressed I became a lot more confident and my right hand was doing the damage."